


We Should Go to Sleep Now (You Should Stay the Night)

by Kufikiria



Category: NCIS
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Pining, Post-17x14, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Season/Series 17, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22759963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kufikiria/pseuds/Kufikiria
Summary: This is not the first time Nick is visiting Ellie’s place (he still remembers deep conversations on the couch and a few spilled tears over the loss of their dear friend) but still, there’s something different in the air tonight; something that makes his heart ache.Even though he’s glad to be here with her, he can’t help but wish the reason behind his presence in her home would be other than his recovery.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 16
Kudos: 115





	We Should Go to Sleep Now (You Should Stay the Night)

**Author's Note:**

> took me forever to write the 2nd part and in the end, it kinda got out of my hands but oh well… hopefully it still works out this way lol.

It takes less than twenty-four hours after his hospital release for Nick to end up at Ellie’s apartment.

All because it took _her_ even less than that to show up at Gibbs’ house. She was there when Nick eventually got discharged to make sure he was truly okay, and she was there the next morning as well, with a silly excuse and some breakfast for three. In fact, she was there so often that their boss quickly got tired of it and told him to just go recover at her place when he came up from his basement and found her in his living room.

_Again._

Nick expected Ellie to defend herself, but she didn’t. Much to his surprise, she rather agreed to Gibbs’ suggestion (which, to be fair, sounded more like a direct order) without any more prompting. Nick would even dare to think that she almost seemed glad he threw both of them away like this — as if she’d been waiting for it and it’d been her plan all along.

Or maybe he was just imaging things he wants to be true.

In any case, here he is now, waiting in _her_ living room while she’s getting ready for sleep in the bathroom. It’s late — the moon is shining high outside the windows while the chilly weather is making the tree branches bend with the wind. This is not the first time Nick is visiting Ellie’s place (he still remembers deep conversations on the couch and a few spilled tears over the loss of their dear friend) but still, there’s something different in the air tonight; something that makes his heart ache.

Even though he’s glad to be here with her, he can’t help but wish the reason behind his presence in her home would be other than his recovery. He’d be lying if he’d say he never pictured, in his wildest dreams, them going out on a date (a real one, that is, with _just_ the two of them) only to end up here after what would for sure be an _amazing_ night, laughing and loving while sharing one last drink.

He’d have to _ask her out_ first for such a thing to possibly happen, though. Tell her how he feels and pray she feels the same…

( _Don’t be a wuss_ , a voice resonates in his head.)

Lost in his thoughts, Nick wanders around the familiar room, taking in all the sights in front of him. Ellie’s apartment is neatly organized as always. Everything looks just the same as the last time he was here — the scented candles, the many books, the vases and several plants. Even the huge painting of her and Gibbs is still hanging proudly on the wall. Nothing has changed, except for _one_ detail.

Indeed, laid on a small table next to the couch in a way that seems — to his agent-trained eyes, at least — like they have been taken away from their initial place in the otherwise perfectly arranged room, are a picture and a piece of paper. It’s like Ellie has been looking at them not so long ago and didn’t put them back where they truly belong yet.

Curious, Nick gets closer to the misplaced items.

His eyes focus first on the photograph. He has the same at home; it’s one of the whole team in matching NCIS hoodies, taken during some mandatory team-building event. It doesn’t take long for him to find himself and Ellie among the small group of friends and colleagues. They’re standing next to each other, grinning at the camera while his arm is casually draped around her shoulders.

Looking at it makes him smile. They had a lot of fun that day.

His gaze then goes lower, towards the little piece of paper that’s folded in two, and suddenly his heart sinks and his beam falters. He recognizes it immediately — the words in dark ink and written in his handwriting are standing out from the otherwise blankness of the paper. _To Ellie_ , it reads, even though a rather fresh stain seems to have blurred out the first letters of her name.

It’s like some water has been spilled on it by accident.

(Like a tear somehow fell onto the note.)

His heart misses another beat at the realization that not only did Ellie keep his note, but she very well might have re-read it not so long ago and even _cried_ over it too.

It’s a bit much to process at once, and Nick isn’t so sure what conclusion he should draw out of it. He’s been told how shaken up she’s been by the accident and the fact that he almost died, but to actually _see_ some proof of that is a whole other thing. Plus, he’s still completely unaware of what he wrote inside the note except that it was, according to his partner’s own words, _some very touching things_.

And knowing how he feels about her… all bets are off on what those ‘very touching things’ were exactly.

He’s thought about it a lot, for the duration of the past weeks, and to say it’s driving him crazy would be an understatement.

At least, he’s pretty sure he didn’t write any sort of a declaration of love — Ellie would have confronted him about it instead of simply teasing him otherwise.

To be alone with this note right in front of him is very tempting. Nick can’t help but ponder whether he should sneak a small peek at it while he has the chance or not. Such an occasion might never present itself again. After all, he’s the one who wrote it — he has every right to know what’s inside then, right?

When he eventually makes up his mind and goes to grab it, though, it’s too late; a voice in his back stops him dead in his tracks and makes him turn in surprise.

“The bathroom’s all yours. You can sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch.” His gaze lands on Ellie, who changed from her previous clothes to more comfortables ones and tied her hair up in a messy bun.

Again, it’s not the first time they’re about to spend the night at the same place (it was barely over a year ago that they fell asleep together on Gibbs’ couch with that baby next to them), but there’s something about the domesticity of such a side of her in her pajamas and ready to go to bed that makes Nick stop and stare for a second too long before he registers what she just told him.

“Bishop.” He looks her straight in the eyes. “ _I_ ’m taking the couch. It’s your apartment.”

She stares right back at him, a determined glint shining inside her hazel irises. “But you’re the one who needs to recover. So _you_ should take the bed. It’s more comfortable.”

“And I’m sure your couch is much more comfortable than Gibbs’,” he retorts half-seriously, half-playfully. “I’m gonna be fine, don’t worry.” To emphasize his words, he sits on her sofa.

He’s not going anywhere.

It makes Ellie sigh while she crosses her arms over her chest in a severe posture. _“Nick…”_

The way she says his name, a little exasperated by his refusal to cooperate, makes him smile. He knows her, and he can tell this is a fight she won’t let him win so easily, no matter what he might say.

The truth is, though, even if it could be fun to let this ‘argument’ between them go on for a while, she’s not the only one who worries about him. He does, too — about her. One of the first things he noticed when Ellie entered his hospital room after he woke up was the bags under her eyes. The fact that they’re still here now tells him that she hasn’t had much sleep for the past few days.

This is why his voice is a lot softer and more serious than ever when he opens his mouth again. “You need to rest just as much as I do.”

Then, a pause. He hesitates for a beat before he makes his final offer as a compromise. He hopes she won’t take it the wrong way.

“What about we both take the bed?”

He catches how Ellie’s pupils grow bigger at his words — she probably didn’t expect such a turn of events. She doesn’t answer right away and, not able to patiently wait in silence for her to say something, Nick talks again to clarify his thoughts. “I mean, it’s big enough for the two of us, right? And we’re both grown adults. Unless you’re afraid you won’t be able to deal with _this_ sleeping next to you,” he tries to deflect some of the tension that fell between them with a joke as he points at himself.

It seems to work, because Ellie chuckles and rolls her eyes at his antics. Nick lets out a sigh of relief.

“I’m more concerned I won’t be able to deal with your _snoring_ ,” she retorts and he gasps, feigning being hurt by her (false) accusations.

“Excuse me?!” His voice hits a higher pitch than usual. “I do _not_ snore.”

“Yes, you do.”

She smiles proudly while Nick shakes his head in defence. “No, I don’t. But anyway, does this mean you will take the bed with me? Otherwise, good luck making me get out of here.” He starts making himself more comfortable on the couch.

Ellie pauses for a second to think before she eventually answers him with a slight nod. “Yeah, okay. You’re right, we could both use some _real_ sleep.”

She cracks another smile at him, shyer this time, that’s quick to reciprocate on Nick’s face.

“Great.” He tries not to pay attention to the butterflies forming in the pit of his stomach while she stares at him.

* * *

With the room plunged into almost complete darkness, Nick’s other senses are heightened. He can smell the flowery perfume of Ellie’s shampoo as well as hear her deep, regular breathing next to him. Her presence by his side is more soothing than it is overwhelming like he thought it would be, and her covers are warm, and her bed is _definitely_ much more comfortable than Gibbs’ couch, but still — he doesn’t seem able to find any sleep. He can’t help but think about the past few days and what happened during that time.

Think about his partner, and how their colleagues said she reacted while he was stuck between life and death. The way she’s been acting around him since he woke up, too.

“You’re not sleeping, are you?” As if on cue, Ellie’s voice resonates through the quiet room and brings him back to the reality of the moment.

Nick turns around and finds her only inches away from him, with her eyes shining in the darkness and piercing right through him, as if she’s been watching him for a while now. This newfound, unexpected proximity makes him startle a little and his heart flutters. He clears his throat and his thoughts before he can answer her but Ellie beats him at it.

“You still are the worst pretend sleeper I’ve ever seen,” she says before he can retort anything.

It makes him chuckle lightly, which help ease the tension in his body. “Well, that makes two of us.” He studies her for a beat, then asks, his tone softening with the question. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Nick catches how the amused glint inside Ellie’s eyes disappears, soon replaced by one of fear and embarrassment, and how she averts her gaze. She can’t seem able to look at him anymore.

It makes him frown with worry. A beat passes before she finally answers him.

“I, huh—…” She takes a deep breath before she goes on. “I get nightmares.” She slowly brings her eyes back to him. Then, in a much lower voice, practically inaudible if they weren’t surrounded by so much silence, she confesses. “About the accident. Every time I close my eyes, I—…” Another deep breath. She averts her gaze again. “I see you. Laying on the ground. You’re not breathing.”

There are tears now prickling inside her beautiful irises, and Nick’s heart clenches in his chest. He can’t help but feel guilty. This is his fault. He made Ellie worry about him.

(He’d be lying if he’d say he didn’t get similar nightmares, though. Ones in which he’s not fast enough and he doesn’t get to push her away from the impact of the car and _he_ has to watch her lay on the cold hard ground. But right now is not about him. It’s about _her_ , and what he can do to make her feel better. To take those dark thoughts away from her buzzing mind.)

This is a lot to take in — this vulnerability she chose to share with him in the intimacy of her room. He wants to break the small gap between their two bodies and wrap her in his arms, hug her fears away, act as a shield against all those bad memories. He wants to kiss her and whisper against her mouth that _everything will be alright_ before kissing her again.

Instead, he takes her hand and his, just like _she_ did a few days ago. Even when he’s the one to initiate it, the simple touch is enough to send a rush of electricity running through his spine.

“Hey,” he whispers. It makes her look back at him while he slowly, very gently brushes his thumb over the bare, smooth skin of the back of her palm. “I’m here.” He holds her hand tighter to emphasize his words. He never leaves her sight as he talks, smiling softly to make her understand that he _means_ what he tells her. “I’m fine. And I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” There seem to be something in the air tonight, that makes him open up to her too — not completely, though.

 _Actually, I could stay right by your side forever, if you’ll have me,_ he thinks but doesn’t say. This is not the time.

(He’s still being a wuss.)

The atmosphere between them is heavy; _too_ heavy. So Nick feels the sudden need to add in a lighter tone, echoing his words from a few days ago. “I’m a badass, remember?”

Through the darkness, he watches how the corner of Ellie’s mouth curl up into a smile. God, he loves that smile. He loves it even more when he’s the one who brings it to her face.

This time, _she_ ’s the one who tightens the grip on his hand while keeping her gaze on him.

“Yeah. You are.” This is a simple answer, but something in the way she says it makes Nick’s heart soar. It’s like some kind of understanding passes between them, the words hanging above their heads as they fall silent again.

Ellie eventually falls asleep after that, her body pressed close to Nick’s and her fingers still intertwined with his. He doesn’t push her away; only watches her sleep for a while and makes sure she won’t wake up before he closes his own eyes. “Goodnight, Ellie.” His low voice resonates through the walls, met with no other answer than her instinctively curling closer against him in her sleep.

It makes him smile softly as well as sightly ache with longing for this to become his daily life.

Something already switched between them after the conversation they had at the hospital, igniting a spark of hope inside Nick’s heart that only grew when he learned about Ellie’s reactions when he was stuck between life and death, but he knows that after tonight and this newfound proximity they found themselves in, things will never be the same between them.

They crossed another fine line. And if he’s being honest with himself, they crossed quite a few of them, lately.

 _The line between personal and professional can sometimes be tricky_ , Jimmy’s words resonate in his mind, from a conversation they had weeks ago.

Maybe their friend is wrong — there _is_ chemistry between them, and there’s nothing inherently bad about workplace romances. On the opposite.

And maybe Ziva is right, and he should stop being a wuss. Tell Ellie how he feels.

“I love you, you know.” But for now, he only lets it slip through the night with a small sigh and his eyes closed at a time when he knows she can’t hear him.


End file.
